If You Ever Come Back
by Spottedfang
Summary: I could say that if you ever came back, I'd change, but we both know that would be a lie. I sit here and wait for you to return like I do all the others, and when you don't, I promise never to forget you.
1. Produloge

Hey, guess what? I'm not dead! ^^ I haven't written a story in three or four years but I have a perfectly good excuse. I have have a rough past few years and all inspiration for stories are shot before I even start. Not any more though, I swear it. I promise to actually finish this one for once. I have the whole story plotted out already and I have a continuing inspiration.

Before you read this story, I highly recommend you listen to the song** If You Ever Come Back** by The Script. The whole story is based on this song and it might make this chapter make a bit more sense. Also, keep in mind that this is a future-fic, so that's one reason why it might seem a bit out of character. Also, I have just started getting around to watching the show so I haven't really gotten a firm grasp on how the characters should really act. I would really appreciate some constructive criticism. It'll help me write and make this story better and more interesting. For now, though, enjoy! Lots of love from Spotted.

A special shout out to my friend thestinkyfoot on Deviantart for helping me come up with some of the plot. I can't ever thank you enough.

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><p>It was nearly midnight in the Land of Ooo and nearly everything was quiet. Even after all of his hard work in trying to clear his home of all evil, Finn was alone on this cold night and in a way, he very much welcomed it. It meant that he had some time to think about what just happened in peace and silence.<p>

What _had_ happened? Even Finn himself didn't know. At first it seemed like a typical argument with Marceline. They had them all the time, them 'play fights' as she called it. The next thing Finn knew however, she was out the door and gone out of sight. A part of him wanted to go after her and apologize like he usually did but something told him to wait this one out and give her some time to cool off.

After having an on and off relationship for over 7 years, there were days when Finn still seemed to forget that she was a well over a thousand year old vampire. Time meant nothing to her anymore. That could probably be why he hadn't seen her in about a week, Finn concluded quietly as he absently started drawing shapes in the earth beneath him. He may have not known what it meant, but it was something Marceline had shown him.

"_**Grow up, Finn! It's over. There are more important things to do besides going on your stupid little adventures."**_ Finn, give up adventuring? As if! Finn was made for adventuring; it's what he lived for, next to Marceline, anyway. The whole thing left Finn confused. He remembered quite well that she loved to go on adventures with Jake and himself when they were young. Even though they pretty much got rid of all the evil in the Land of Ooo, he was positive that there was some other land out there where evil roamed the streets.

All he did was ask her if she wanted to go travel, maybe go on adventures like they used to. It ended up turning into a full out war between them. It was just a simple question but why did she have to make such a big deal out of it? It's not like we was never going to come back, he wanted her to come with him. Now at this time and age, there could be no one else fit to go adventuring with than her. No matter how many times he tried to tell her that, she was hearing none of it.

Of course, Finn had tried looking for her, but what good was that? It had been a week and she could be anywhere by now. He had also tried asking around but he got no answer. Basically, the only person left that knew her well enough was himself and Princess Bubblegum, his childhood crush. Finn knew that he couldn't ask her, though. Ever since she found out about Marceline and him being a couple, things had just become awkward between the two of them. PB had still tried to be nice and told them that she was happy for then and that if they ever needed anything, just let her know.

No matter how they tried to deny it, any sort of relationship between them, whether it be friendship or otherwise, was gone. The two avoided each other as best as they could, but they both put up a friendly act when meeting was inevitable.

It was times like these when Finn often wondered what things would have been like between him and PB if he had never gotten together with Marceline. Would they have been a couple instead? Would they have gotten married by now and he would be sitting next to her as King? Who knows? The world was a crazy place as far as Finn was concerned.

With a heavy sigh, Finn pushed himself up off the ground and continued walking on. He knew it was a lost cause, but he was either going to find Marceline or die trying. He owed her that much at least, right?

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><p>Sorry it's so short, but I did say it was just a little intro to the story. Again, feel free to leave some constructive criticism (but be nice about it) andor leave a review telling me what you like about it. I'll have the first chapter up soon so wish me luck!


	2. Chapter 1

_**"You're in love. That's the way it should be. I want you to be happy.**_

_**You're in love, and I know you're not in love with me." **_

_**- Wilson Phillips**_

Thank you all so much for your kind reviews/words! I wasn't expecting everyone to like it, let along love it like you did. It felt so good to get such high praise. Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel right now. I promised to get the next chapter up soon and so here it is.

If it wasn't already obvious, I do not own the show Adventure Time or the characters.

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><p>"Finn, you okay?" A soft feminine voice came from behind him. Almost soundlessly, she had come up to place her hand on his shoulder. "I heard about what happened between you and Marceline."<p>

"I don't know, Princess Bubblegum. I just don't know." Finn whispered quietly as he turned to face her but made sure that her hand was still resting on one of his shoulders. "I mean, it's no different than the last time but even so, where is she? I've looked everywhere pretty much but I still can't find her."

"Rumor has it that she went to the Nightosphere." Seeing his sudden and tormented expression, she quickly added, "But it has also been said that she returned back not too long ago."

"Why do you think she went to the Nightosphere?" Finn asked as he glanced towards the distance absently. It was almost sunrise so no doubt she was heading home while she had the chance if she wasn't already there.

"Maybe she just needed a little space for a while, Finn." Princess Bubblegum suggested, attempting to comfort him as she dropped her hand and neatly clasped them in front of herself. "When you two fight, I bet she feels just as bad as you do. No doubt she's close by somewhere and wants to apologize."

"I don't think I'm ready to face her just yet. Do you mind taking a quick walk with me?" Finn nervously shifted from foot to foot as he met Princess Bubblegum's eyes.

"I don't know, Finn, I mean, I really need to start heading back to my kingdom." She hesitated, but eventually gave in as she sighed softly. "Alright, but just a quick one alright?"

"Deal." Finn agreed as they slowly started to make their way back to the Candy Kingdom. Things grew silent between them, but it was more of a comfortable silence as opposed to their usual awkward one. This gave him the chance to look around with a new interest and a clear head. Normally, while he was fighting crime, he was too busy to check out the scenery.

As the name implies, the Candy Kingdom is a kingdom made of candy. Candy as far as the eye can see with everything from the cotton candy clouds high above the puffy tree tops, to the chocolate river running beside them, to the gingerbread road on which they now were walking on. Just the mere sight of it brought a sort of childish feeling inside him. If it wasn't for the seriousness of his current situation and the fact that the princess was standing right beside him, he would have probably tore off running to try to eat something close by. Now that he thought about it, though, Finn wondered if there was anything here that really was edible or it was just for looks.

"So," Princess Bubblegum lightly turned towards him with a genuine small smile. "Besides, you know… How have things been for you recently? It's been a few years since we've really talked and hung out."

Finn blinked at the question, a bit baffled by it at first as he stopped to think. How had things been for him lately? Sure it was stressful and a bit depressing when he had his fights with Marceline but those moments when they were actually getting along were golden. They were priceless, even.

Despite everything, Finn was proud to say that he was happy with Marceline. It felt as though she was the only one to ever understand him and on a level that no one else could ever fully understand themselves and he knew she felt the same way. The other people gave them dirty looks as they walked by, as if they couldn't understand why they stuck together, but how could they not?

"I've been alright." Finn concluded after a moment. "I sort of miss adventuring, but it's no big deal really. How about you? That old Ice King isn't giving you any trouble, is he? You know I'd go kick his butt in a heartbeat if he is."

Princess Bubblegum gave a small laugh which both caused them to smile, even if just a little bit. "I know you would, Finn. Thank you, but no, he hasn't been all that much of a problem lately now that he finally found a princess who actually loves him but who knows how long that will last. Other than that, I've been fine. The Candy Kingdom is prospering."

"I still say there's something wrong there. This is the Ice King we're talking about here." Finn muttered as they came to a stop at the gate.

"Yes, I can't help but agree with you there. We'll just have to see though. Good luck with Marceline." Finn expected her to go in almost immediately afterwards. That's why he was shocked to see him suddenly approach him and wrap her arms around him in a hug.

The two of them stood like that for a few moments, each comforted in the presence of the other until Princess Bubblegum finally pulled back and brushed a few tears from her eyes. "I'm so sorry about that, Finn. I don't know what came over me." She gave a small grateful nod though was purposely avoiding his eyes.

"Nah, it's fine," Finn assured her, though an uncomfortable feeling came over him. "You alright?"

"Yes, I just," She hesitated for a few more moments then they met eyes one more time. "I'm alright, really. Goodbye for now, Finn. Again, good luck with everything."

Finn watched her go sadly before heading off himself. Despite her words, a part of Finn doubted he'd ever see her again or at least not any time soon. Not if he could help it any.

Heart heavy, Finn took a quick detour through the woods and was on the road back home. The sun was already up by this point, but if he was lucky, he still might be able to catch Marceline still awake. With a last check at himself, he opened the door and called her out. "Marceline, you there? I know you're still up. We need to talk."

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><p>It's still a little short, but hopefully I'll make it up with the next chapter. I don't know what to say about this chapter in particular so I'll just stop talking and leave to to enjoy and review. Also, free cookie for whoever can guess the reference. Good luck and good night for now.<p>

- Lots of love, Spotted.


	3. Chapter 2

"Keep your words soft and tender because

Tomorrow you may have to eat them."

~Author Unknown

This chapter is a little bit late but I will explain everything below.

For now, enjoy this suckish and very super short chapter.

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><p>Finn lightly sighed as he plopped down on the couch. It was officially morning from the bright and almost blinding sunlight from outside. He knew darn well that she was there but he wasn't going to wake her now. She was probably fast asleep by now and he wasn't going to dare wake her up now. Even he wouldn't go that far, no matter how much he wanted to make up and apologize. He would just have to wait until nighttime again.<p>

There was no point in going back outside either. Surely, if Princess Bubblegum saw him again, she was sure to figure out that something was wrong. Besides, after last night, Finn planned on avoiding her these next few times anyway. He knew that was probably wrong of him but what choice did he have? Surely, she still didn't have feeling for him. But what would make her freak out so much, then?

"I give up…" Finn lightly muttered to himself, sighing inwardly as he laid back into the hard fabric of the old torn up couch, but at the moment, he hardly noticed. At first, Finn had practically begged Marceline to get rid of it to find, preferably, a more comfortable one, and she was more than willing to comply but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to keep it. A baffled Marceline asked him why but all he did was give her a simple head shake in reply.

To be truthful, the old couch held some memories. One cherished one in particular. It was one where Jake, Marceline and him, along with Marceline's ghost friends had tried to watch Heat Signature.

Jake. Oh, how Finn missed Jake. It might have been a few years ago, but there were times when he still had nightmares about his brother's death. No, they might have not been real brothers, but Jake was the closest thing to family Finn had ever had. Jake also happened to be Finn's best friend.

Everyone was shocked when it happened. It was just so unexpected. What seemed like a simple day of relaxing soon turned into a day no one wouldn't soon forget, if at all. They all had thought that the two heroes had destroyed the Lich for good but there he was all the same. The two of them had automatically leaped into action, but seeing as they were a little unprepared, they were at a slight disadvantage. That was all it took. If the Lich was going down, he was going to take someone down with him and that person just happened to be Jake.

_Finn had stopped running when he noticed that his faithful friend was no longer beside him. The rest of the citizens had already gone or either dove for cover nearby, even Princess Bubblegum and Marceline were hopefully long gone. At first, Finn had thought the worst. Maybe Jake had sustained an injury and was having trouble catching up. "Jake! What are you doing?" Shock and disbelief filtered in his voice when he turned to see that the dog was actually turning around and heading back purposely._

"_We have to stop this thing, Finn! I know what to do." Jake had turned around too, trying hard to keep his voice loud enough so that he could still hear him. _

_There was a look in his eyes that Finn had never seen before and to be honest, it scared him a bit. "Bro, come on! We can't do this alone!"_

"_No Finn, we need to stop this thing once and for all. Like you said, it's our job to help the Land of Ooo, no matter what the cost. This is what it means to be a hero." _

_Finn didn't know whether to run back down and help, or simply just respect his brother's wishes and let it go. Whichever one he chose, though, didn't matter anyway because not a moment after, a great pain overwhelmed him and everything after that was a blur._

For a while after that, people had kindly kept their distance away to give him some space. Finn would look up to meet them face to face, but all he got was a sympathetic glance and nothing more. What they didn't realize was that was making things all the more worse. Now was when he needed someone there to talk to and that person just so happened to be Marceline.

It was at that time when it seemed as though Marceline knew him better than anyone else and maybe even better than he knew himself, or maybe it had always been that way. Finn found himself going to her house more and more often, either to just talk or maybe listen to her play some new song on her guitar. He might have not known what some of them meant, but he enjoyed it all the same.

Those few weeks he had spent with her had been the best but somewhere along the way, they had started to drift. Finn had no idea how it started, and he doubted Marceline did either, but he did know that he had to fix it and fix it he was, no matter what.

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><p>Yes, I know it's bad but I wanted to do something. Lately, I really haven't been in the best health whether it be physical or otherwise. With this weather changing so much here where I live, it's really affecting my asthma and making it that much harder to breath. Plus, I've been under a lot of stress and pressure for various reasons. After a while, all of that catches up with you and starts to get overpowering and overwhelming, you know. With that being said, I probably won't be writing any more chapters for a while. I'm not giving up, I just need to take a little break right now. I'm sorry guys, but I just can't handle this right now. Hopefully, though, I'll be able to get another chapter in soon. I also promise you that I will have Marceline make an actual appearance in the next chapter. I promise you.<p> 


	4. Update

First of all I want to apologize for gone so long without writing a new chapter or not making an effort to at least tell you what was going on. I won't go into too much detail, but this past year or so has been really hard on me. First my old computer died and it took my family and me months to save up for a new one. I lost everything I had and for a while there, I had lost hope of ever reviving this story. School started back up in early September and that has also put a big strain on the amount of free time I've had recently. I've been going through some family issues as well and it's left me very depressed. My grades in school have dropped and I don't want to have to repeat another grade again, so I have to try to put in as much effort as I can to bring them back up, or at least to a passing level.

However, I made a promise to myself and every one following this story that I would finish this and see it to the end. It might take me a bit longer to find the time to write (and to find inspiration), but if you guys are willing to continue reading this story then I'm willing to continue writing whenever I can.

The story might be extremely out of character because I haven't seen an episode of Adventure Time with Finn and Jake in practically forever but I will try my best. For those of you who have stuck with me all this time, there are no words to describe how grateful I am to you. I appreciate the faith you have put in me and I promise you, there will be a new chapter here soon. I will finish this no matter what.


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